A simple study tool to learn new words and build your vocabulary efficiently

Monday, 21 September 2015

Language Learning Tips and Tricks: Tip 2

Get a good self-study grammar book

Yes, yes, yes, grammar! It's language skeleton so don't ignore it! Otherwise you risk speaking wibbly-wobbly language that only you will be able to understand. Since arguably the main purpose of speaking any language is communication with others it's not what you want to achieve!

Tricks

There will be grammar exercises in the study book you have chosen of course but you might find them not enough for you to master, for example, modal verbs. And if you are a grammar freak like me admiring its beauty and inner logic, then you might find yourself chanting three forms of irregular verbs while waltzing your way around a book store looking for the next self study grammar book to replace another finished one.

And don't get me wrong here - as much as I love grammar I would not spend a minute studying it if it was boring! Grammar does not have to be boring! The trick is finding the right book and/or other study materials. For studying English the classics is 'English Grammar in Use' by Raymond Murphy and for studying German 'EM Uebungsgrammatik' is a very good (and fun!) book.

And you don't have to limit yourself to conventional exercises when studying grammar. Discover Jazz Chants by Carolyn Graham if you fancy throwing some rhythm and a bit of performance into your studies.

Now that you are equipped with foreign language study essentials, i. e. study book and grammar book, we will be looking into other materials you can use for studying your dream language so don't miss the next post! It will be fun ;)

And in the meantime feel free to share your own tips and tricks on learning grammar in the comments below!